Tulare County Biographies
CHARLES D. PRUNER
Transcribed by Kathy Sedler
This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm
Charles D. Pruner, one of the largest grape growers of Tulare county,
California, was born in Lodi, Virginia, July 29, 1884. His father, A. E. Pruner,
was a farmer near Lodi. In 1901 the family removed to California and located
near Exeter, where the father continued in business as a vineyardist until his
death in 1916. His widow is still living.
Charles D. Pruner received a high school education in Virginia. After
coming to California he spent a year and a half in the Polytechnic College at
Oakland, taking the engineering course. As soon as he was out of college he
started into the grape culture by purchasing twenty acres of raw land. That was
in 1908. Since then he has added two hundred and thirty acres to his original
tract. Of this land fifty acres are planted to peaches, plums and pomegranates
and two hundred acres to grapes, mostly Emperors. His grape crop of 1924
aggregated over one hundred carloads. The magnitude of his own crops induced him
to establish a packing house, in which he now takes care of not only his own
products, but also does a commercial packing business. A large part of his
immense vineyard and orchard was raw land only a few years ago, but by his skill
and industry he has brought the land under cultivation and made it one of the
most valuable pieces of property in the county. Mr. Pruner's packing house has a
pre-cooling plant, with six car capacity daily, and storage of seventeen cars.
He uses the blast system. This is the only one in the San Joaquin valley.
Mr. Pruner was married to Miss Flora Snodgrass, a native of Virginia, and they
have one son, Charles, aged twelve years. Mr. Pruner is a republican in his
political convictions. In 1916 he was nominated by his party for supervisor, but
was defeated. Mr. Pruner was one of the organizers of the Exeter Ice Company,
manufacturers of ice and soft drinks. This company started on a comparatively
small scale, but is now doing a large business. He is a member of the Exeter
Chamber of Commerce, belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and is
a liberal supporter of all worthy organizations, such as the Red Cross and the
Boy Scouts.
Source: History of Tulare County and Kings County, California � Kathleen
Edwards Small & J. Larry Smith, Vol. II, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke Publishing
Company, 1926., p. 482